Broader horizons: growing responsibilities.

Recognizing that peacemaking and peacekeeping are an essential UN function, with the aim of "prevention, containment and resolution of disputes", the General Assembly on 10 December urged a comprehensive streamlined approach to planning and managing future operations to ensure the "unity of command and control indispensable for successful peace-keeping".

In adopting resolution 48/42 without a vote, the Assembly set out its concerns regarding the resources, finances, organization and effectiveness of UN peace-keeping efforts, as well as on issues related to the 1992

An Agenda for Peace", a d the security and safety of UN and related personnel.

The world body acted on the recommendation of the new Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) - a merger of the former Special Political Committee and the Fourth Committee (Decolonization).

Before establishing a UN peacekeeping operation, the Assembly warned, the Security Council and the UN Secretary-General should "analyse a given situation very carefully". A "realistic mandate", including clear objectives and a time-frame for resolution of the problem, should be formulated "conducive to the furtherance of the political process".

The Council should periodically review the effectiveness of UN operations to make sure that they remained within existing mandates, and that no change in mandate, duration or character of any operation occurred without Council approval.

The importance of the use of "preventive deployment" and/or establishing demilitarized zones was stressed, as a means of preventing existing or potential disputes from escalating into wider conflicts.

Acknowledging the "increasing challenge of forging large and cohesive peace-keeping missions from many and diverse contingents", the world body called for effective training of civilian, police and military personnel before deployment. Official UN training guidelines, combined with performance goals, should be devised for individuals and units, so that peacekeepers could be trained in accordance with "agreed-upon common standards, skills, practices and procedures".

Member States, especially those in whose territory UN operations were conducted, were urged to provide comprehensive support to all UN peace-keeping personnel and take all necessary measures to ensure and guarantee their safety and security.

States should "act promptly to deter and prosecute all those responsible for attacks and other acts of violence" against UN peace-keepers, the Assembly said. Noting difficulties and dangers; that could arise when UN peace-keeping operations were conducted "in situations where no authority exercises jurisdiction", the Assembly said the Security Council and other UN bodies should consider "measures appropriate to the particular circumstances".

Governments hosting UN operations should disseminate to their populations necessary information on the role of those operations.

After reviewing an agenda item on peace-keeping operations in all their aspects, the Assembly stressed that the UN must receive adequate resources "commensurate with its growing responsibilities in the area of peace-keeping".

The Organization, it stipulated, must be able to "deal effectively and efficiently with planning, launching, managing and providing administrative and logistics support", and coordinate and institute "appropriate rules of engagement".

Fourth Committee Chairman Stanley Kalpage of Sri Lanka told the Assembly on 6 October in an opening statement that the process of decolonization would hopefully be completed soon". Although there were still 18 Non-Self-Governing Territories, by the end of the century, UN work on decolonization should be "decisively concluded".

The Fourth Committee's major responsibility now would be in the field of peace-keeping, he said. The issue of financing those operations required special attention. in an 11 October report (A/81/460), it was suggested that Governments consider financing peace-keeping from their national defence budgets. The Independent Advisory Group on UN Financing called peace-keeping an "investment in security", adding that the UN should consider having a "unified peacekeeping budget", financed by a single annual assessment.

On 10 December, the General Assembly acted on 24 texts recommended by its Fourth Committee.

In an omnibus resolution (48/51 A-B) on 10 Non-Self-Governing Territories-American Samoa, Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guam, Montserrat, Tokelau, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands-the Assembly said the peoples of those Territories should determine freely their future political status, in accordance with the UN Charter and the 1960 Declaration on the Granting of independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.

In addition, the Committee adopted decisions on Gibraltar, Pitcairn and St. Helena.

Progress was also urged with regard to Western Sahara (48/49) and New Caledonia 49150).

The Assembly asked for measures to ensure the permanent sovereignty of the peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories over their natural resources. It also called upon (48/46) administering Powers concerned to ensure that "no unjust wage system or working conditions" prevailed in the Territory under their administration, and to apply a "uniform system of wages to all the inhabitants without any discrimination".

Military installations in Non-Self-Governing Territories impeding implementation of the decolonization Declaration should be withdrawn, the Assembly declared.

In resolution 48/47, the specialized agencies and other UN organizations were asked to increase their assistance, as well as examine and review conditions in each Territory so as to accelerate progress in economic and social sectors there.

Acting in plenary, the Assembly asked (48/52) for continuing worldwide support for the goals of the International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism, which began in 1990.

Palestinian rights,

other matters

Fifteen texts concerning Palestinian rights and Israeli practices in the occupied territories were adopted by the Assembly on 10 December on the recommendation of the Fourth Committee.

Among other things, the Assembly expressed support (48/40 A-J) for the activities of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). It also urged assistance for refugees, expanded education and training programmes, and return of displaced inhabitants to their homes in territories occupied by Israel since 1967.

The Secretary-General was asked to take steps to protect Arab property rights in Israel. Israel was called upon to desist from acts of aggression against the Lebanese and Palestinian populations in Lebanon. Protection of Palestinian students and educational institutions, as well as the establishment of the University of Jerusalem "Al-Quds", were urged.

The Assembly also commended (48/41 A-D) the efforts of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs in the Occupied Territories.

Related to the peaceful uses of outer space, the Assembly emphasized the need for orderly growth of space activities favourable to the socioeconomic advancement of humanity", in particular that of the developing countries. More attention was asked for the problem of collisions of space objects, including nuclear-power sources, with space debris.

As regards information, the Assembly urged reduction of "existing disparities in information flows" by increasing aid for communication infrastructures in developing countries.